Refrigerator.



No. 633,329. Patented Sept. I9, i899.

W. TITTLE.

BEFBIGEBATUR.

(Application med Apne, 1899.)

(N o M odel.)

.. f f Y' .nntmiwm/l/ if I |`""m I i 7() UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

wEsLY TITTLE', OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

REFRIG ERAT'OR.

SPECIFICATION-forming part of Letters A'late'nt No.`633, 3219, dated September 19, 1899. Application iiled April 2,6, 1899. Serial No. 714,480. (No model.)

To al?, whom 2li ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, WESLEY TITTL'E, a citi-A zen of the United States, residingat Toledo, Lucas county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is asp'ecific'ation.

In the refrigerators and ice-.boxes in common use the :ice is stored in the upper part of the device upon open supports through which the air circulates into yand out of the 'coolingchamber below. W'hen the door of thischam- 'ber s opened, the cold air by reason of its greater gravity falls 'out of Vthe lice-chamber and out through the door. W arm air from the outside now immediately rushes in and takes the place of the displaced Acold air, causing the ice to melt rapidly. This waste of ice has to some extent been overcome by providing means for closing the openings in the floor which supports the ice, andspecia'l supports have been devised by which communication between the upper and lower chambers can be cut Off at will. These devices, however, have'not proved entirely satisfactory owing to the fact that it is necessary to operate them manually each time the door is opened and closed. As the operator frequently forgets or neglects to close the bottorn of the ice-chamber or to open it he fails to effect the desired saving.

My invention relates to and its object is to provide means for overcoming the difficulties here pointed out and to furnish a mechanism by means of which the ice-chamber shall be automatically and instantly cut olf from the refrigerating chamber when the door is opened and by means of which when the door is closed the air-passages between the upper and lower chambers are immediately opened, thus avoiding the waste due to the cause above indicated. I attain these results by means of the mechanism and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, made cal'section of part of my device, as hereinafter described.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

In the drawings, l l are the sidewalls of the refrigerator, and 2 the floor. The top is not shown. The space inclosed by the side walls, the top, and the floor is divided into two compartments by horizontal partition 3, the ufpper compartment forming the ice-receptacle, the lower compartment being for the reception of such articles as are to be kept cold. In one of the walls is the usual door 4. (Indicated in Fig. 2.) For illustration I have shown the horizontal partition 3, con. structed after the manner and in the form of a support for ice well known and in common use. I v'do not, however, limit my invention to the kind of'horizontal partition here shown, as itis obvious that my device is equally applicable to any form of open-work ice-support having means for opening and closing communication between the upper and lower chambers.

In the example of my invention illustrated in the drawings 5 5 are a series of horizontal parallel scantlin gs or bars extending from one wall of the refrigerator to the opposite wall. Alternating with the pieces and arranged in equidistant and parallel relation therewith are troughs 6 6, designed to cat-ch the water of the melted ice, the waste water escaping through down-pipes G. To the upper longitudinal corners of the pieces 5 are hinged, as at 7, wings S. rlhese wings normally hang vertically against and parallel with the vertical sides of the bars 5, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3; but the wings may be swung upon their pivots outwardly, so that their lower` margins will touch the adjacent troughs. Each of the wings upon corresponding sides of the bars 5 are pivotally connected, as at 9, to a bar lO, running transversely to the win gs and beneath the same, while the remaining wings upon the opposite side of each of theV bars 5 are in like manner connected with another bar lO, ruiming parallel with the rst-mentioncd bar l0. The bars l0 are provided with springs 1l, which by their tension pull the two bars in opposite directions, thus normally holding the several pairs of wings extended, as shown.

It will be seen that when the wings are extended the spaces between the bars 5 and the troughs (i are closed and that when the wings are allowed to fall upon their pivots into vertical position against the sides of their respective bars there is left an open space between each of the wings and its neighboring trough.

l2 is a lever pivoted, as at 13, near the door, so that when the door is open one end ofthe lever projects into the opening. From the opposite end of this lever leads a rod 14, which is pivotally secured, as at 15, to 'a horizontal pulley 1 (l. From opposite sides of this pulley project short radial arms 17. Upon each ot the bars 10 is mounted a pair of rollers 1S. The radial arms` 17 project between the two rollers of each pair, affording a sliding connection between the pulley and the bars 10. The horizontal pulley serves as a double bell-crank lever connected t'o the two bars 10, the arrangement being such that the movement ot' the pulley will throw the two bars in opposite dilections.

The operation of my device is as follows: When the door 4 is opened, the springs 11, pulling upon their respective bars 10, extend the wings 8, thus cutting off communication between the upper and lower compartments. t Now if the door be closed it will come in contact with one extremity of lever 12, causing the other end of the lever to pull on rod 14, which causes the pulley 16 to swing ou its axis. This movement of the pulley, through its connections with the bar 10, swings the two bars in opposite directions, overcoming the tension of the springs 1.1 and causing the l several pairs of wings S to drop into vertical I position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, thus restoring communication between the two compartments and insuring the circulation of air therebetween. Thus it will be seen that always when the door is opened the bottom of the ice-compartment is instantly and automatically closed and that when the door is closed the -bottom of the-ice-compartment is instantly and automatically opened.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many forms of connection between the doorand the closures for the ice-compartment may be employed, that many devices may be used to retain said closures in normally open or closed position, and that various methods may be employed for controlling said. closu res by means of the opening or closing of the door. I do not therefore limit my invention to the specific construction and arrangement of parts here indicated.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a refrigerator, an ice-compartment, a floor therefor comprising a series of parallel scantlings or bars, a series of troughs alternating with said bars, and a series of wings pivoted to the sides of said bars and adapted by their movement to open or to close the spaces between the bars and troughs, combined with a door and connections intermediate the door and wings, whereby the wings are actuated by the movement of the door.

WESLEY 'll'lTTihL In presence of ALMON HALL, L. E. mowN. 

